When Nithiin, in the pre-release event of his upcoming release Check, had hoped for the film to be Chandrasekhar Yeleti’s first commercial blockbuster, he wasn’t being sarcastic, rather he was being realistic. Most of Yeleti’s films have been critically acclaimed and garnered great respect over the years, but apart from Anukokunda Oka Roju, the other five films of the director haven’t exactly been money-spinners. The advantage for Check is that it’s easily the most commercially bankable star cast the director has got for any film – Nithiin, Rakul Preet and Priya PrakashVarrier.
It’s appreciable that Nithiin has taken up Check after a slew of commercial films, the actor was increasingly typecast in either lover boy or mass roles and there was every danger that he could have got himself into a rut. Even Rakul, for the first time in her Telugu film career, has stepped away from being the regular commercial heroine. The commercial fate of the film is important, at least for a reason that these two have come out of their comfort zone to try something different.
However, like all Yeleti’s earlier films, the absence of a strong buzz/excitement is hurting Check reasonably. There’s only one song in the film and Check, very much like Naandhi, has avoided any forced dance-song routine. The teaser and the trailer have been poorly cut though the theme of a chess player’s journey in a jail backdrop has evoked interest. Regardless of how much the makers push the film in the coming week, Check’s fate will largely rely on good word-of-mouth.
From the time that Yeleti made Manamantha (his last film) to Check, the tastes of Telugu audiences have changed considerably. It remains to be seen if this will prove handy for Yeleti. Looking at his filmography, there’s no chance that he could make a lazy or a bad film. It’ll be a welcome sign of change to have mainstream Telugu audiences lap up his work.